


light keeps on gleaming

by minimiwrite



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: F/F, Idol Hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 13:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minimiwrite/pseuds/minimiwrite
Summary: Misaki, Asaka, and their idol girlfriends, oh my.in other words, Misaki's descent into idol culture and all of the heartache, fun, and regret that come with it.





	light keeps on gleaming

**Author's Note:**

> im back on my bullshit and no i dont take constructive criticism 
> 
> this is for my one friend who got me into idol hell very similarly. he very much ruined my life but i met aiai so i mean i guess?

          The day started off innocently enough; the entire Miyaji Cardfight Club (minus Kourin, who was off doing yet another photoshoot) was at Card Capital for club activities, and Ren and Asaka had decided to come by and practice with them. It was loud, but not in a way that Misaki particularly minded, though she still needed to send warning glares at Naoki to calm him down. Shin himself had shooed her away from the counter when he realized she was staring at the group from afar, and it seemed that all of them were having a good time cardfighting.

          Except Asaka.

          After any given fight, the blue haired girl would sit down and angrily tap away at her phone for approximately two minutes and thirty seconds before challenging someone else to another cardfight. She notes that it’s happened exactly seven times now, too many to be a simple coincidence, and Asaka always ends those sessions with a scowl that could probably have killed a lesser man. Misaki’s a little concerned, both for the wellbeing of Naoki, whose dragons are being pummeled without mercy by Asaka’s furious combos, and for Asaka herself, who seems to be in an incredibly foul mood, even with Ren around. She hears Naoki’s desolate cry as Asaka pulls out a limit break and swaps out her rearguards yet again for another attack, and by the time she’s turned around to reprimand Naoki (for the eighth time), Asaka’s gathered up her cards and pulled out her phone again, tapping violently.

          The Pale Moon user sighs bitterly as the tapping stops, and catches her glance with an irritated glare, putting her phone away and walking toward her, deck in hand. “Let’s fight, Misaki.” The tone of her voice was sickly sweet, dripping with saccharine acid. “It’s been a while since I’ve beaten you.”

          Misaki wouldn’t consider herself all that competitive, but Asaka, ever since their first fight in the Vanguard National Championships, was the exception, and her words have her narrowing her eyes in a glare to match the other’s as she fishes her deck out from her apron front pocket again. “Let’s just see what happens.”

          They place their starting vanguards down nearby and sit (the boys monopolizing the standing tables), but Asaka startles as her phone buzzes and she picks it up, staring at the screen (Misaki’s starting to feel bad for the other girl’s phone too, with how tightly she’s holding it) with a mix of irritation and vague desperation. Asaka mutters something under her breath before closing both her phone and eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with another brief sigh.

          “Is Suiko texting you?”

          Asaka jumps a little, clearly having been lost in thought. “No, she’s doing a photoshoot with Kourin and the small one, uh, Rekka, I think? Didn’t your girlfriend tell you?”

          “I don’t know what else would have you typing away at your phone so often.” She silently adds in an ‘and so violently’, curious enough to control herself from adding on.

          Asaka sends her a look. “It’s another Kasumi event right now in Bandori. I’m making sure that I stay in the top hundred players right now so it’s still possible to rush for the top ten slots later.”

          “What.”

          Asaka snorts, rolling her eyes with a gentle blush on her cheeks, contrasting greatly with her vaguely irritated look. “Look, I’m trying to tier for Suiko right now. I hate it when other students in Fukuhara try to impress her using their fucking tiers in this stupid game. Honestly, I’ve had my tongue in her mouth before, you’d think they’d take the hint.”

          Misaki continues to stare at her, confused, Asaka’s frown deepening as she realizes Misaki wasn’t understanding. “You know, Bandori? Bang Dream? The game where Suiko voices the title girl?” Her eyes widen as she realizes Misaki’s confusion was real. “You don’t play idol games? Not even Love Live?”

          She crosses her arms together, a little defensively. “Why would I?”

          “Because? Kourin’s in them? And you’re dating her?”

          Misaki shrugs. “Just because we’re together doesn’t mean that I need to follow everything she’s doing in her work.”

          Asaka still looks floored by the revelation, frowning. “You don’t even go to her lives?”

          “Lives?”

          There’s a badly stifled groan. “UltraRare concerts. They call them lives for idols.”

          “I… She’s never asked me to.” She feels a little bad admitting it, but Misaki never truly enjoyed being around a lot of people in a noisy place; even the idea of it gives her a headache. Kourin seemed to understand, never even bringing up the topic. Instead, many of their dates revolved around spending quiet time together and playing Vanguard. The busiest place they’ve ever gone together was a nearby shopping mall, looking for nothing but each other’s company.  

          Asaka leans back in her chair, digesting the information. “Hm. I guess I assumed that we were more similar than I should have.”

          There’s a bit of a condescending (but somehow encouraging) tilt to her voice and all of a sudden, she feels like they’re right back in the Asia Circuit, when Asaka criticized her for not being flexible enough to switch her preferred clan to match the current metagame. It stung, the implications that she had gotten complacent again and everyone else was far ahead of her. Misaki grits her teeth, stiffly picking up the top five cards from her deck. “Are you going to play me now or are you just here to comment on my relationship?”

          Asaka waves airily, her original bad mood somewhat dissipated (and seemingly transferred to her, Misaki thinks bitterly), and draws five cards as well. “Just think about it. Suiko always looks the happiest when she sees me waving around my penlights in the front row.”

          Misaki does, and she’s distracted enough that Asaka scores another win off of her, the other girl picking up her phone immediately afterwards and tapping away at colorful notes on the screen. She knows that Asaka’s definitely tilting the screen towards her this time just to show off the game, and it irritates her more to know that she’s definitely taking it in.

          Asaka’s words bother her late into the night, as she’s laying on her bed, staring at her ceiling when she should definitely be asleep. Without really thinking about it, she turns onto her side and tugs her phone off her charger, typing up a message to her girlfriend.

          ‘When is your next live?’

          She hesitates, thumb hovering over the send button, unsure of whether to press it or not. Kourin’s probably had a long day, Misaki knows that her work as an idol often has her exhausted, and she doesn’t want to accidentally wake her for something like this. With a sigh, she changes the message slightly and sends it to the person who started her torment in the first place.

          Asaka’s reply is immediate.

          ‘fuck you i lost my full combo’

          ‘theres a short live next week, let’s go together’

* * *

 

          Misaki’s first thought when they arrive at the venue is that this was a mistake. Her second was that she’s vaguely impressed with the crowd that turned up, pride in Kourin swelling in her chest. People were pushing her from the back and there wasn’t much room to maneuver as she and Asaka steadily walked closer and closer to the front of the line to be admitted in. As Misaki expected, her head is pounding at all of the unnecessary noise and confusion, everyone pushing and shoving to get closer to their seats with a monotone grumbling.

          “Is it… always like this?” She mutters to Asaka as the other gracefully evaded being shoved back by a fan that stumbles a bit as they move forward.

          “This is better than usual. We got here pretty late.” There’s definitely a smirk on Asaka’s face as she inches forwards without looking back. “Don’t worry, it’ll get better once we get our seats.” There’s a pause as Asaka suddenly stops, the line halting as the guards in front finds something illicit in a bag. “You brought the penlights I sent you the link for?”

          Misaki nods before realizing there’s no way Asaka could even register the movement. “Yes.” She pulls them out of her bag, clicking them on halfheartedly. A bright blue color emanates from the two and she shakes them, hoping that Asaka can see them in her peripheral vision, even with the crowd stuck around them, closing in (she’s never considered herself to be claustrophobic or anxious around crowds the way Aichi is, but even with all of her focus solely on Asaka’s back, she’s on the verge of screaming).

          “Oh, you need to change the colors on yours.” Asaka finally turns back, though she keeps a wary eye on the person in front of her, making sure that no one tries to cut ahead of them, before clicking a button on the bottom of the penlight, changing the soft blue to a bright gold. “There’s a different color for each one of them. Suiko is blue, Kourin is gold, and Rekka is pink.”

          “Basically, their hair colors?”

          “Yes. It’s usually not much deeper than whatever that member’s favorite color is.” Asaka shrugs, turning back around and stepping forward. “The bigger groups have more problems keeping everyone’s color distinct.”

          She shakes her head; Misaki didn’t really need to know that useless fact. “When did you start caring so much about idols?”

          “The moment that some idiots in class started to flirt with Suiko and say that they’re her biggest fans.” There’s a note of sharp competitiveness and underlying frustration in her tone. “It just irritates me to hear that someone likes her more than I do, and how they all try and mob her and waste her time.”

          It seemed immature, but Misaki could relate to the bitter note in Asaka’s voice; Kourin was constantly swarmed by the other students in Miyaji, to the point where she wasn’t able to even conduct her studies properly some days. Due to her own reputation at school, she could scare a few of them off, but even then, Kourin usually spent lunch hiding with her in a quiet corner of the school, resting while her fans tried to find her. Misaki found herself irritated with her classmate’s immaturity, angry at their inconsideration, especially when all she could do aside from loan Kourin her shoulder to sleep on and hope that they don’t get found.

          They finally stumble into the concert hall and Asaka leads them to their seats, clearly having been here multiple times before. She grabs her penlights as well, turning them on to a colorful blue and sitting with a bit of sigh. “That was awful.”

          “I thought you said it’s better than usual?”

          “It is, but it doesn’t mean it’s not awful.” Asaka places her chin on the palm of her hand, staring at the empty stage as the speakers blare cheerful music. “They’re going to start soon. You should sit while you still have the chance to.”

          “What do you mean? Don’t people usually sit?” She’s only been to one concert before, and that was a classical one with her parents when she was quite young. Misaki distinctly remembers sitting down and being scolded gently when she stood up to applaud the orchestra in the middle of a song. Nonetheless, she settles into her seat, grateful for the arms of the chairs keeping her apart from the other fans.

          “Not here.” There’s a bit of a look on Asaka’s face, a mix between a grimace and excitement, and she shrugs. “I don’t think they sit for many band concerts nowadays either.”

          With that, the lights suddenly dim, and everyone around Misaki rises up with a scream. It was almost like the entire group was hypnotized, the way that the penlights filled the darkened hall and the yells synchronized. With a glance at Asaka, Misaki discovers, while she’s not yelling like the rest of them, Asaka probably has her penlights up in the air the highest, an impressive feat, considering she was about Misaki’s average height.

          She hears a familiar tune playing (it was their first single Miracle Trigger, she immediately recalls it from their time going to the national tournament), and sees the lights shine down suddenly on the three members of UltraRare, who have run on from backstage, waving energetically to the crowd around them. Misaki’s guessing that she should probably follow suit and wave her penlights in time with the beat with everyone else in the room, when her eyes meet Kourin’s briefly.

          Time stops as Kourin’s voice falters slightly, her eyes growing wide as Misaki musters her best smile as Asaka yells deafen her left ear, waving the yellow lights in the air as high as her arms can go, hoping that her vague attempts at supporting her reach Kourin’s heart.

          Judging by the wide smile and the extra energy that she suddenly throws into her performance, it did. Kourin doesn’t stop smiling even through Suiko and Rekka’s gentle teasing during the speaking portions of the live, always searching out Misaki’s eyes and looking at her as she sang. Misaki herself couldn’t tear her eyes away from Kourin; the blonde obviously put a lot of time and effort into the routines, and something as simple as a hand wave was always accompanied with a sparkling smile and an elegant twirl. It was so much easier to breath now, even after someone behind her accidently brought their penlight down on her shoulder (she’s sure it’s going to bruise in the morning), when Kourin is on the stage and she can finally phase the rest of the crowd out.

          There’s a knowing look on Asaka’s face after the three idols leave and the staff announces the policy for leaving safely. They’re in the last wave of people (as they’re in the front, Suiko generously supplying the two of them tickets), and Misaki sits to rest both her aching legs and her voice, Asaka much the same position, her eyes closed and hair up in a ponytail, leaning far back in her chair.

          There’s a buzzing in her pocket that Misaki feels, rather than hears (there’s a soft ringing in her ears that she hopes will go away in time), and without looking at the screen, she takes the call. She’s expecting to hear a concerned Shin over the line, wondering where she was when he’s in the front with a car to pick the two of them up like the doting guardian he is, but Misaki’s pleasantly surprised to hear Kourin’s voice instead.

          “You didn’t tell me you were coming!”

          “I wanted to surprise you.” Misaki closed her eyes and brought her hand to her other ear, trying to focus on Kourin instead of the noisy auditorium. “And you were busy preparing for the live this week, so I didn’t want to distract you either.”

          “Misaki, you’re never a distraction.” Kourin’s voice became soft. “But I was surprised. I didn’t think that you would like these sorts of events.”

          “You’re here.” She can see Kourin blushing and smiling in the image in her heart, and Misaki hears a gentle laugh from the other side of the line. “That’s enough for me.”

          “Next time, just tell me. I’ll get you a backstage pass. It’ll be easier than climbing through that line.” Kourin paused for a moment. “Only if you want to go to another live, I know that you’re busy with Card Capital.”

          There’s no hesitation in Misaki’s voice as she answered. “When is it? I’ll clear my schedule.”

          The smile on Kourin’s face shines through in another bright laugh, and Misaki feels a wide smile growing on her own face. “It won’t be for a while. I’ll make sure to tell you the dates when they come up.”

          “I appreciate it. Thank you, Kourin.”

          “No, thank you for coming Misaki.” The gratitude and happiness in her girlfriend’s voice made Misaki wonder what exactly had been stopping her from coming to previous lives. “It… really made me happy.”

          They sit there in silence for a moment, basking in each other’s presence like they usually do, and it almost feels like Kourin is sitting next to her, on the bench in the schoolyard, their sides pressed up together and hands intertwined. The moment is broken when Misaki hears yelling on the other side of the line, and Kourin sighs.

          “I have to go, there’s some things I need to do… I’ll see you at school on Monday?”

          “Of course. I love you.”

          Kourin’s voice is achingly gentle as she responds. “I love you too.”

          Misaki hears a click, signaling the end of her call, and stares at the stage again, the images of Kourin dancing and singing on it burned into her memory. There were many times when she felt as though her impressive abilities was just a burden, but being able to remember everything so vividly and clearly helped her retain the good as well; the feeling of Kourin’s hand in hers, the happiness in her eyes as she saw that Misaki was watching her, their phone call right now… Misaki truly and honestly felt lucky.

          “Glad you came?” Misaki startles out of her train of thought, and she sees that Asaka’s already had stood up, looking down at her, a bit snide, a bit teasing. The other girl reaches out a hand, offering to help her up.

          Another vision of Kourin’s bright smiling face and sparkling eyes flashes through her mind as she lets out a sigh, a bit of a smile left on her lips as she takes Asaka’s hand and gets pulled up. “Yes. It was good.”

          They leave quietly after that; their row having been called just moments ago. Misaki takes a final glance back at the stage before walking away. She’ll be back.


End file.
